May 1, 2000 12:00 PM, Kimberly Chun

617/747-2146 -- www.berkleepress.com

Ever stepped out of a movie theater, humming the music, and thought, "I could do that! That could be my music on every audience member's mind"?

Well, Richard Davis' Complete Guide to Film Scoring won't exactly disabuse you of that notion, but it will give you a comprehensive overview of what it takes to be a film composer. Orchestrator for Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and The Last Boy Scout, as well as an associate professor of film scoring at Berklee College of Music, Davis covers the history of film music, the production process, the creation of the music-including the technical requirements of a score, synching music to picture and scoring animation-and the business of film scoring. The coup de grace: interviews with a range of working film and TV composers and orchestrators, including Danny Elfman, Elmer Bernstein, Michael Kamen, Mark Snow and David Raksin.

Unfortunately, Davis tackles enough topics to fill volumes, and therefore he skips the specifics that might appeal to pros. Still, Complete Guide to Film Scoring is bound to be useful to music students doing exploratory research on the field, or for film score fanatics who might want a clear, quick understanding of the industry.

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